Scott Yanta

Term Expires December 2024

As a fourth-generation farmer, Scott Yanta has a vested interest in the preservation of the Edwards Aquifer.

The owner of Yanta Hay Farms, an irrigated coastal hay farm in Devine, Yanta grew up hunting and fishing with friends. After high school, he attended Tarleton State University, graduating in 1995 with a Bachelor of Science in agricultural systems management.

The family farm was started on 300 acres in the early 1900s by Yanta’s great-grandfather Joe, a Polish immigrant who entered the United States through the port of Galveston and settled in the community of Panna Maria. The farm, which has grown with each generation, is now more than 2,500 acres.

A former member of the Medina County Groundwater District board, Yanta was elected to the EAA board in 2014 and re-elected in 2016. His current term expires in 2020.

“I want to protect the interest for these farmers out here,” Yanta said. “In population we’re just a small number, but we use half of the water consumed out of the Edwards.”

Yanta’s son Cole, a student at Texas A&M University, and daughter Kaylee, who has been accepted to A&M, both plan to return to the farm when they complete their educations.

“We’ve got to have this water to make a living,” Yanta said. “We’ve got to make it last for the next generation to come.”